By Smita Prakash

Washington, Nov.26 (ANI): Visits by heads of government or state to the United States usually don’t occupy much space in the American media, especially on their front pages and in times of global economic distress, but this visit by the Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, as President Barack Obama’s first State Guest has seen the American fourth estate playing it up, certifying the rarity of the event.

Most of the papers in the United States have trained their focus on the State Dinner hosted by the Obamas, and the body language coming out of the event, according to the media, suggests that ties between New Delhi and Washington are on a roll and at a significant high, a development that could never have been envisaged till about a decade ago.

Here are some of the comments appearing in prominent print and electronic media of the United States.

The Los Angeles Times says that President Obama’s glittering state dinner for the Prime Minister of India “was a platform to lavish attention on a key strategic ally.”

“It also underscored the emergence of Indian-Americans as civic and political leaders, and increasingly important sources

of campaign money for both Democrats and Republicans. The 320-person guest list for Tuesday’s event was in some ways a

traditional amalgam of politicians, diplomats, celebrities and heavyweight presidential campaign donors. It included Hollywood movie moguls David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, as well as members of Obama’s Chicago inner circle of fundraisers, among them Penny Pritzker, chairwoman of his national campaign finance committee, and Paula and Jim Crown, who ran his Illinois finance committee.”

It further goes on to say that “the dozens of Indian-Americans on the list attested to that group’s (communities) heightened profile. They included Indra Nooyi, the chief executive of PepsiCo Inc.; author Deepak Chopra; TV medical journalist Dr. Sanjay Gupta; and Louisiana Republican — and possible 2012 Obama challenger — Governor Bobby Jindal.

The L.A. Times says that President Obama took the unprecedented step of reassuring the Indian Prime Minister “that the partnership between their two countries would be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century.”